


A Mother's Love

by Notmarysue



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Co-Parenting, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everybody Lives, Fix-It, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Light Angst, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notmarysue/pseuds/Notmarysue
Summary: Jane is trying her best to settle back into her stolen life, but Becky simply refuses to die.
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Tom Houston/Jane Perkins
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	A Mother's Love

**Author's Note:**

> So, now that Nightmare Time's out on YouTube and we can all suffer together, have this to soften the blow (also, I swear the scene of Tom and car Jane being um...close was way longer the original stream. Either my brain warped that experience or it was cut. You guys were spared)

Becky Barnes had always been stubborn. She always tried to brand as determination, a unique type of willpower that helped her push her way towards her goals, but the rest of Hatchetfield knew better. Becky was stubborn through and through. Not without reason, of course. She needed to be to survive. Stubbornness got her through the Hell that was her marriage, stubbornness kept her moving through the fear and the loneliness in the months after his ‘disappearance’, and stubbornness was what helped her cling on long after most what have given up. When Jane returned from the dead to take her body, Becky refused to die.

Jane did everything she could to get rid of the nurse that still clung and chattered in the back of her mind. Her voice was so grating, especially for the first few days. She moans and shouted and whined, complaining about her ‘unfair’ fate, never giving Jane a moments peace. What did Becky know of unfair fates? She’d never died, she’d never been replaced. Jane was only reclaiming the life Becky had stolen from her, even if the price for resurrection was proving steep. Unfortunately, killing the woman whose heartbeat she needed to live was impossible, so she tried to drown her out. Alcohol fogged both their minds, but it also scared Tim, who was stressed enough by the confusing circumstances. In the end, Jane resigned herself a lifetime of minor annoyance. As long as she had her son, it was worth it.

“Tim doesn’t like pickle.” Becky’s voice echoed through Jane’s head as she stood in the kitchen, making sandwiches for Tim’s packed lunch.

“Yes, he does.” Jane replied out loud.

“I’m telling you he doesn’t. He won’t eat it.” Becky insisted.

“My son loves pickle. He always has.” Jane scowled.

“Well, maybe he used to, but he certainly doesn’t anymore.”

“Since when?”

“A few months. You know how kids are. They change their opinions on things all the time.” Becky pointed out.

“What do you know about kids? You can’t even have any.” Jane snapped. There was no response. Just a cold, still silence. Jane’s stolen heart dropped as she realised what she said. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.” She said softly.

“It’s fine.” Becky muttered.

“No, it isn’t. Nobody should ever use something like that as a weapon. And after everything that happened with Stanley-“

“Jane, it’s fine.” Becky snapped. “I’ve dealt with far worse than your poorly thought through insults.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have needed to.” Jane sighed. “I just want you to let me look after Tim. He’s _my_ son, okay? I know him better than anyone. I don’t need you to tell me how to look after him.”

“Who are you talking to?” Jane turned at the sound of her son’s voice. He stood in the doorway, dressed for school, staring at her in confusion.

“No-one, sweetie.” She smiled. “I was just thinking aloud.”

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“Yes, well, it’s been a stressful few weeks.”

“Because of dad?” Asked Tim. She sighed. She had to admit, part of her felt bad for Tom, sat alone in that jail cell. But he’d made his choice. He’d abandoned her, it was only right that she did the same. Besides, if Tom got out, he’d start asking questions, and if it came down it, he would fight for Becky over her. Best to keep him away. That way he could never see what she’d done.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s not well. But I’m here. Look, I made you sandwiches.” She beckoned him over, showing him the freshly had cheese and pickle sandwiches she’d made him. Cut into triangles, no crust. Just the way he liked them.

“Oh. Thanks.” Tim said quietly.

“Is something wrong?” She chirped.

“No. It’s fine. Thank you.”

“Tim, I can tell when something’s up.” She said firmly. “Come on, you can tell me.”

“It’s just…don’t like pickle, remember? I went off it.” He explained.

“But you loved it when you were little.”

“How you know that? You didn’t know me when I was little.”

Jane gulped. Sometimes she forgot she was wearing someone else’s face.

“Okay. I’ll just make you something else.” She said through a fake beam. “Do you want cheese and ham? Or maybe just cheese?”

“That’s okay. I’ve still got some pocket money left. I’ll just get something from the cafeteria.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”

“I’m sure. Today is fried chicken day, so that’s cool.”

“Well, that isn’t exactly good for you, but if that’s what you want.” She muttered. “Do you want me to drive you?”

“No.” Tim shook his head. “I’m going to take the bus. I’ll see you later.” 

“Alright. Have a good-“ The door slammed as Tim ran out.

“See?” Said Becky.

“Shut up.” Jane snapped. “It’s just taking a little time to adjust. That’s all. In time we’ll…we’ll just…”

“Go back to normal?” Becky asked.

“Yeah.” Jane mumbled.

“Do you really believe that?” She asked quietly. Jane said nothing. She wasted going to give Becky the satisfaction of having something over her. “Come on, you’re a therapist. You know the importance of talking. Besides, it’s still my brain. I can probably find out one way or another.”

“You can see my thoughts?” Jane asked.

“No.” Becky admitted. “But maybe there’s a way to start.”

“Fine.” Jane grumbled. “It’s just…I hate that you seem to understand him better than I do.”

“Well, that’s only natural. You’ve been gone for over a year. That’s a long time, especially for a kid.” Becky reminded her.

“That wasn’t my fault. I was kind of busy being dead.” Jane insisted.

“I know.”

“I mean you try having your soul shoved into a cold, dark hunk of metal.”

“Jane.”

“Right. Sorry. I just feel like I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Poor Tim’s life has been chaos and I can’t even tell him I’m back because…well just imagine what that would do to a kid. He spends 18 months grieving and learning to move on and then I drop that on him. What lesson does that teach about loss? But he’s been through so much and can’t be there for him. I don’t even know him anymore.” Tears welled in her eyes as she explained. Never in a million years did she think she’d grow so distant from her own child. “Maybe I should have died properly and let you raise him.”

“Don’t say that.” Becky said softly. “Look…maybe…maybe this doesn’t have to be a fight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re both stuck together in this body. That’s not changing anytime soon.”

“I guess not.” Jane agreed.

“So why make a fuss? Why argue? If we both work together, we’ll do great. I mean, we both want what’s best for Tim. We both love Tom.”

“Tom is a married man.” Jane snapped.

“Tom spent the last 18 months thinking he was a widower.” Becky reminded her. “But he has a big heart. Big enough for two. He never stopped loving you, he just started loving me too.”

“Are you sure?” Jane huffed. “Sometimes I feel like it’s the other way around.”

“It doesn’t matter. The point is he can love both of us.”

“Fine.” Jane sighed. “So how will this work?”

“I’ll help you with everything you need. All I’ve learned about Tim, any medical advice he might ever need. If can pull you up, I will.”

“And in return? I presume you want something out of it.”

“I want you to drop the charges against Tom and get him out of jail. Tim needs his dad.” Becky explained.

“Sure.”

“And I want you to explain what you’ve done.”

“He won’t be happy.” Jane muttered.

“He doesn’t need to like it; he just needs to understand. I’ll even explain it myself if that’s possible.”

“I don’t know if it is, but I’ll try to find out.” Jane assured her.

“If it is, I’d maybe like to have a little control of myself every now and then. You’ll always get it back, but I still want some freedom. Plus, I still have a job to do.”

“Of course. I probably couldn’t pull off the nurse thing.” Jane nodded. “Anything else?”

“No. I guess we’ll have to work it out as we go along.” Becky explained.

“Okay. We’ll figure this out.” Jane smiled warmly.

“Oh, there is one more thing.”

“Go on?”

“No more pickle. It’s gross.” Said Becky, and though she had no face, Jane could sense her smiling.


End file.
